COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Erk Russell would've loved watching his "Junkyard Dawgs" play like this.

Russell, Georgia's beloved longtime defensive coordinator, died Friday. A day later the 12th-ranked Bulldogs honored him the best way they could -- posting their first shutout in three years in an 18-0 victory over South Carolina on Saturday night.

Russell led Bulldogs defenders for coach Vince Dooley from 1964-80 before leaving to restart football at Georgia Southern. Russell's trademark was fiercesome, never-give-in defense. Georgia (2-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) couldn't have done that any better against the Gamecocks.

"The way to truly honor him is to play like junkyard dogs," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "That was the phrase he always used, and I think that's what we did."

Perhaps the truest testament to their effort -- it was only the second shutout ever hung on one of Steve Spurrier's teams.

"You always have to play hard, play like Erk Russell's teams of the past," Georgia linebacker Danny Verdun Wheeler said. "We came in thinking that's how we wanted to play."

Georgia's players wore a black "ERK" decal on their helmets, then bottled up the Gamecocks (1-1, 1-1) for most of the game.

South Carolina had 10 yards rushing in the first half and 35 for the game. The closest the Gamecocks came to scoring was on 4th-and-goal from Georgia's 1. But Blake Mitchell's quarterback sneak wound up with the ball punched into the end zone and going over to Georgia by rule.

The Gamecocks drove to Georgia's 2 midway through the fourth quarter. Again, Georgia held them without points.

This was Georgia's first shutout since a 30-0 win at Clemson to start the 2003 season. The only other time a Spurrier team was held without points came during his first year as a college coach in 1987, when Duke lost 7-0 to Rutgers -- a span of 193 games.

The Bulldogs got three field goals from Brandon Coutu, a 9-yard TD run from Danny Ware and a safety from big defensive end Charles Johnson.

Johnson also had a sack, three other tackles for losses and broke up a pass.

"I call him the 'big bully' at practice," Richt said. "He was a bully out there tonight. He's a big physical presence."

Georgia's defense took center stage to bail out a sluggish offense, hurt when starting quarterback Joe Tereshinski injured his right ankle on the team's first series. He'll have the ankle examined again before Richt and the coaches decide how serious the injury is.

Saturday, highly regarded freshman Matthew Stafford filled in.

Stafford showed his talent -- he escaped a sure sack deep in own territory by rushing the width of the field then pushing forward for an 11-yard gain -- and rawness with three interceptions. But the way Georgia's defenders played, it didn't make much difference.

"I had too many turnovers," Stafford said. "I have to do better than that."

He did enough to give the Bulldogs a comfortable lead. He had pass completions of 10 yards to Mario Raley and 19 yards to Kenneth Harris.

Ware did the rest, carrying four times for the final 38 yards, including a 9-yard TD run that put Georgia ahead 10-0.

Stafford hit passes of 20 yards to Thomas Brown and 39 yards to Mohamed Massaquoi on his next series and looked like he'd lead the Bulldogs to another touchdown.

But his pass near the goal line was intercepted, deflected by Gamecock cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to teammate Chris Hampton.

Johnson cleaned up that error, stopping South Carolina tailback Mike Davis in the end zone for the Bulldogs' first safety in two seasons. Then Stafford got them going once again, driving to Coutu's second field goal of the half.

Coutu connected from 46 yards as time ran out, sending Georgia to the locker room up 15-0.

Spurrier said he was sick of watching his team meander to the line before running a play. He promised changes, saying he would outline them later in the week. "We should be playing better than this, but we're not," he said.